Film-splicing machine



Feb. 13, 1923. 1,445,645.l

1. SLIPPER.4

FILM SPLICING MACHINE.

FILED MAH. s1. 1920. 2 sHEETssHEET l.

J. SLIPPEH.

FILM SPLICING MACHINE.

FILED m1111131. 1920. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Feb. 13, 1923.4 1,445,045.

v the cutends of the film together. This hap- Patented rea i3, 1923.

fr orme.

JAMES SLIPPER, OF :LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

FILM-SPLICIllG MACHINE.

Application led March 31, 1920. Serial No. 370,293. i

' Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of. California, haveinvented a new and useful Film-Splicing'Macl1ine, of which the followingis a specification.

Wy invention relates to the art of motion pictures, being moreparticularly a 'machine for splicing film. In the production andexhibition of motion picture films it is fre quently necessary to cutthe film and spl-ice pens generally in the productionof films when thefilm is being made up from a number of pieces of film containingdifferent scenes, the scenes having been taken separately upon dierentpieces of film.4 ln the distribution of film by the various distributorsthe film is always examined when it is' returned to the distributor fromtherexlu'bitors, and in many cases' portions of the film are damaged,which necessitates the cutting out of the damaged portions and thesplicing of the film before it is used again.

The principal object of my invention is to produce simple form of filmsplicing machine by means of which the film' may be cut and quicklyspliced.

Other objects and advantages will appear hereinafter from the followingspecification.

Referring to the drawings, which are for illustrative purposes only.

Fig. 1 is a plan view yof a machine embodying a form ofv my invention, aportion of' the machine being broken away to illus trate the position ofthe film in the ma' chine.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view on llne 2 2, Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an end view of the machine.

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional View of the machine showing the partsin position for scraping the film. i i

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view similar' to Fig.j4 showing theparts of the machine in thepovsition assumed when the two ends of thefilmare about to be joined. Fig. 6 is a longitudinalv sectional Viewshowing the parts in the Apositionassumed when the splicing operation iscompleted.

Fig. 7 is a vertical cross-sectionalvview on line 7-7, Fig. 1, and nFig. 8 ils a diagrammatic illustration of tend upwardly and engageholdert 33, the v-38 for holding the pins the e-iidsof the films showingtheir relative` positions during the splicing operation.

The machine comprises a base plate 11 which may be secured in anysuitable manner to a table, bench or other supporting device. The baseplate 11 is provided with Ways 12 in which is mounted a stationary head13 and a movable head 14. The `stationary head is adjustable in the base.platewith relation to the cutting'mechanism to be hereinafterdescribed, butis normally held in fixed relation to the base platebymeans of al set screw 15 mounted inthe base plate,

the inner end of' the screw engaging the stationary, head.

The stationary head 13 is provided with a longitudinally extendinggroove 16 forming a film guide arranged to receive a strip of filmindicated at 17, the upper face of the film being substantially in thesame plane as the upper face of the stationary head. 'Provision/is' madefor holding the film in the film guide which consists ofa film clamp orholder 13, such clampI having arms 19 which are kpivotally mounted bymeans of a pin 2() on ears 21 formed on y the head 13. The clamp 18 isprovided with avhandle or grip 22 by means-of which t-he clamp may beswung upwardly on the pivots 20. Securedv .to the inner end of the head13 is aistationary shear plate 23, and for the purpose of correctlypositioning the film with relation to thecutting line the head 13 isprovided with two pins 24 which ex;-

the perforations 25 in the vedge of the film., the film being placeduponthe pins so that the pins engage the perforations i the film. on adivision line 26 between two scenes indicated at 27 `on the film.

Pivotallv mounted to one end of the movable head 14 by means of a. pin30l is a bed plate 31, the bed plate resting upon the upper` face of'the head 14'when in lower position. 'llic bed plate 31 is provided withwavs 32 in which is slidably mounted a film holder 33 which filmholdervis proi vided in its uppcr face with a longitudinally extendinggroove 34 .for receiving one end 35 of the film. The film is held onsuch holder by means of a film clamp 36 pivotally mounted b v means ofpins 37- tothe film film holder 33 having ears 37 and being alsoprovided with a stop`39 which is engaged 11o by a spur 40 on the filmclamp. to limit the swinging movement of the `film clamp on the filmholder. Secured to the inner end of the bed plateby n'xeans ofI screwsor in any suitable manner is a stationary shear For the purpose of'4raising the film holder 'as it reaches the endof its stroke a. cam -l4is provided /seczured in any suitable manner to the base plate l1. whichcam is arranged to be engaged by a. follower 45 pivotaily mounted bymeans of a pin 46 to a bracket 47, which bracket is secured by means ofAscrews 48 to the film holder 33,'a dctent 49 being formedi on thefollower 45 so as to limit the swinging movement of the followeroni-the'pin 46 forZ the purposes hereinafter described.

rThe head 14 and the parts carried thereon,l that is, the bed plateC111, the film holder 33 and the clamip 36, are moved longitudinally inthe machine by means of avlink 5() which is pivotally mounted by meansof a bolt 51 to an operating lever 52 provided with a handle 53 andpivoted vat one end by means of a. bolt 54 to the bed plate of the machine. The link o() is provided with ay perforation' or opening'55 throughwhich extends a pin 56, the upper end ofthe pin being headed or rivetedinto the film holder 33 as shown at 58. f

A cutting frame 6() is mounted on' the bed plate between the fixed head13 and mov able head 14 in the following manner:

61 and 62 designate ears formedv on the baseplate in which is mounted apin 63. Pivotally mounted on the pin 63 between the ears 61 and 62 isone end of' the cutting frame 60, the forward end of the cutting .framebeing provided with a handle o-r gripping member 64.v Secured to eachside of the cutting frame 60 a-rdmovable cutting shears 66 and 67, suchyshears being secured to thecutting frame by screws 68, the shear 66being arranged to co-act with the stationary shear plate 23 and theshear plate 67 being arranged to co-act with the shear pla te,

- 42 heretofore desc.ribed,\it being understood that the' stationaryhead 13 and movable head 14 are so spacedapart during the cutting.operation that the shear plates on the cutter frame, co-act with theshear plates on the respective hea-ds as shown in Fig. 4.

For the purpose of preparing the portion of the film to be spliced sothat the cement will readily adhere to the film,.means areJ provided forscraping the upper edge of one endof the film, suchmeans consisting of aknife having two cutting edges or blades 71- and 72 pivotallyarranged,lthe knife 7() Y beingcut away in bac-k of each cutting edge asindicated at 73 in Fig. 7. -The knife 70 is clamped to a carrier 75 bymeans of a plate. 76, screws 77 extending through such plate throughopenings`78 in the blade and int-o ment of the blade andf carrier, suchplate 76 being arranged to enga-geand rideupon the upper face of' aplate 8() vsecured by means of a suitable screw 81 to the. film clamp 18. The' carrier 75 is slidably mounted on ay rod 82, such rod 82 beingfixed at each end in brackets 83 secured tothe cutter frame. Fingergrips 85 are formed on the carrier 75 so that the carrier may be readilymoved or rcciprocated on the rod 82 during the, scraping operation ofone end of the film.-

'lhe swinging movement 'of the cutter frame with relation to the otherparts of the device is limited by means of a projection 87 which engagesa stop 88 formed on the ears 61. and 62.

It is desirable for the purpose of obtaining the best results insplicing 'to slightly heat the film during the splicing operation, andfor this purpose f have shown diagrammatically an electric heatingelement 9() mounted in any suitablemanner on the stationary head`13, anda heating element 91 mounted in any suitable manner upon the under sideofthe film holder'33.

lfor the purposeof properly spacing the film 35 on the movable head 14the film holder 33 is provided with pins 94. which project through theperforations inthe edge of the film in the same anner and position asheretofore described with respect to the film held by the stationaryhead.

The operation of splicing the film by the machine above described iscarried out inv the following manner:

The stationary head 13 and movablehead 14 are arranged in the positionshown in Fig. 4. The film to be spliced is' placed one end as indicatedat 17 on the stationar)Y head 13 andthe other end as indicated at 35 onthe film holder'33 ih the movable head 14. rflhe clamps 18 and 36 arethen moved into closed position to hold the film in the respectiveheads. The cutter carriage is then moved downwardly intothe positionshown in Fig. 4, the shear plates on the cutter ca rriage cutting theinwardly projecting ends of the film as shown in Fig. 4, Whichendsappear as shown at A in l*`ig.v8. rlhe carrier 75 is then moved back andforth over a portion of the film 17 which projects inwardly beyond theplateSO, the blades`71 and 72jscraping the .upper'face of the film Vwiththe film at all times during the scraping operation. either blade beingable to ride back upon the fi'lm due to the angle of the cut awayportion `73 of theblades, thereby preventing the blades from catching inthe edges of the filmand tearing or cutting the same.

The cutter frame is then movedout ofv the way pf the movable head intothe position' shown in dotted lines in Fig. 7, and cementitious materialapplied in any suitable manner to the' scraped portion of the film. Themovable head is then moved inwardly by means of the lever 52. The firstaction of the lever 52 results in the linkmoving the pin 56 which beingfiXedly mounted on the film holder 33 moves the film holder forwardly.

The film clamp 36 being pivotally mounted on the film holder asheretofore described moves forwardly with the film holder. This' cam 44.Thi's causes the film holder 33vto swing upwardly as shown in Fig. 5upon its pivotal point, the ends of the film at such time being in theposition indicated at, C in Fig. 8. The continued movement inwardly'causes the follower to move over the end of the cam thereby permittingthe film v holder, clamp .and bed plate to resume the position shown inFig. 6, in which position the end 35 of the film is brought down uponthe scraped portion of the end 17 of the film, joiningor splicing suchends of the film together as shown at D in Fig. A8.

The above operationof the parts carried on the movable head, it isunderstood, is a very simple operation accomplished by thesinglemovement of the operatinglever.

After this operation the clamps 18 and 38 are raised and the filmremoved from the machine, the lever 52 then being operated to bringthereby back to its original position, the fol- -lower 45 riding overthe cam without raising the film holder due to the pivotal connection ofthe follower heretofore described.'

It is to be understood that the bed plate 31, the film holder 33 and thefilm clamp 36 carried thereon may be swung upon the point 30 so thataccess may be had to thev interiorl of the machine if desired.

When the head. 14 is returned to its original position as abovedescribed it strikes against stops 95 mounted in any suitable manner onthe base plate, such stopsbeing so positionedY that the shear plate-onfr the head 14 is in proper position to be engaged by the 'shearplate on the cutter frame.

What I claim. -is zl. A film splicing `machine comprising a themovablehead and parts carriedI y 8v stationary member 'arranged to holdolend of the fllm, a movable member, a film holder .on said' movablemembei`l arranged i to swing lon itudinally of the film tol hold theother en of the film, means for scrapingthe film, and means `forbringing the end of the film held 'by the film holder to! f ward. the.stationary head and down up/onf. the scraped portion of the other endofthe film. 7 5

2. A film splicing machine comprising a stationary member arran ed tohold one of the ends of the film to e spliced, a mov- 'able member, afilm holder on said movable member pivotally mountedl to swing longi- 80tudinally vof the film, means for VscrapingA the upper face of the filmheld by the sta'- i tionary member, means for moving the, movable membertoward the stationary member and means for raising and lowering saidfilm holder during the movement of the 4 movable'membert'o bring the endof the. film'lheld by such holder downwardly upon the scraped portion ofthe film heldv by the stationary member, j 9() 3. A film splicingmachine comprising a `stationary member arranged to hold one end of thefilm, means for scraping aportion of the upper face vof such film, amovable member, a film holder on said movable member arranged to holdthe other end of the film, means for moving the movable member towardthe stationary member, and y means for Swingin `thefilm holderlongitudinally of the fim to bring the4 end of 100 the film held by thehlm holder downwardly* upon the scraped portion 4of the film held by thestationary Inember.

4. A film splicing machine comprising a stationary member arranged tohold one end of the film to be spliced, a movabley member, a film holderpivotally mounted on one end ofthe movable member, clamping means forholding the other end of the film to be spliced in the film holder,-means 110 for cutting the ends of the films, means lfor scraping theupper face of the film held by4 the stationary member, means for movingthe movable member toward the stationary member, and means for swingingthe film holder upwardly then downwardly tobring they end ofthe filmheld. by the film holder .downwardly upon the -scraped fportion of thefilm held ,by thestationary member.

5. A film splicing machine comprising a stationary member arranged tohold one end of the film to be spliced, a movable'member, a'film holderpivotally mounted on the stationary member, means for holding the otherend of the film to be splicedin the film holder, means for cutting theends of the films, means for scraping the upper face of the film held bythe stationary mem' ber, means for moving the movable member toward thestationary member, a cam7 and. 130

' the ends of the film, a movable blade mount'-I afollower on said -filmholder arranged to travel over said cam whereby the film holder israised and lowered during: the movement of the movable member to bringthe end of the film held by such member downwardly upon the scrapedportion of'l the end of the film held by the stationary member.`

(LA film splicing machine comprlsmga base plate, a stationary membermounted on the base plate, a movable member slidably mounted on saidbaseplate, means on the stationary member for holding one end of thefilm, a film holder pivotally mounted on the movable member for holdingthe other end of the film, a cutter frame pivotallymounted on the baseplate movable between the stationary member and movable member, arrangedto cut the ends of the film, means for scraping the upper face of thefilm held4 by the stationary member, means for movingthe movable membertoward the stationary member and means for swinging the film hlolderupwardly then downwardly during such movement of the movable member' tobring the end of the film held b v such member downwardly upon thescraped portion of film held by the stationary member.

7. A film splicing machine eomprisino` -a base plate, a stationarymember mounted on the base plate, a movablemember slidablymounted onsaid base plate, means on the stationary member for holding one end ofthe film, means on the movable member for holding the other end of thefilm, a cutter frame pivotally mounted on the base Y plate, movablebetween the stationary member and. movable member, arranged to cut ed toreciprocate on the cutter frame arranged -to scrape the upper face ofthe end of' the film held in the stationary member, and means for movingthe movable member to bring the end of the film held by such. memberdownwardly upon the scraped portion of the film held by the stationarymember.

8. A. film splicing machine comprising a base plate, a stationary membermounted o'n the base plate, a movable member slidably mounted on saidbase plate, means on the stationary member. for lholding one end offilm, means on the movable member for holding the other end of film, acutter frame pivotally mounted on the base plate, movable between thestationary member land movable member, arranged to cut' the ends yoffilm, a rod mounted on the cutter frame,

a Acarrier slidably mounted .on said rod, blades mounted on said carrierarranged to engage and scrape the upperv face of the end of film held inthe stationary member, means for limiting the depth of cutting of theblades, andmeans for moving the movable member to bring the end of filmheld matinee vby such member downwardly upon the 9. A film-.splicingmachine comprising a base plate, a stationary head on the base plate, aclamping member pivotally mounted on the stationary head arranged tohold one end of the film to be spliced, a movable head slidably mountedon the base plate, a bed plate. pivotally mounted on said movable headto swing lengitudinally'of the film, a clamping member pivotally mountedon the bed plate arranged to swing transversely of the film to hold theother end of the film to be spliced, a cutter frame pivotally mounted onthe base plate arranged to co-act with the inner ends of the heads tocut the nlm, scraping means mounted on the cutter frame arranged toscrape the upper face 'of the end of film held by the stationary head,and means for moving the movable head toward the stationary head andmeans for swinging the bed plate upwardly during such movement to bringthe end of' film held by such bed plate downwardly upon the scrapedportion of the other end of film.

10. film splicing machine comprising a base plate, a stationary head onthe base plate, a clamping member pivotally mounted on the stationaryhead arranged to hold one end of the film to be spliced, a movable headslidably mounted on the base plate, a bed plate pivotally mounted on themovable head to swing longitudinally of the film, a film holder slidablymounted on said bed plate, a clamping member fpivotally mounted on thefilm holder arranged to hold the other end ef film to be spliced, meansfor cutting the Vends of film, means for scraping the .upper face of'the end of film held in the stationary head, means for moving the filmholder on the bed plate to bring a portion of the film therein beyond`the inner end of the movable head, and means for moving the movablehead inwardly to bring the extended portion of the film downwardly uponthe scraped portion of the film in the stationary head.

11. A film splicing machine comprising a base plate, a' stationary headon the base plate having a longitudinal groove therein arranged toreceive a piece of the film to upper face ofthe end of the film in thestationary head, means for moving ,thev film holder to bring the pieceoffilm therein beyond the inner end of the movable head, and means formoving-the movable head inwardly to bring the extended portion of thefilm downwardly uponthe scraped portion of the film in the stationaryhead.

12. A film splicing machine comprising a `hase plate, a stationary headmounted on the base plate arranged to hold one piece of film to bespliced, a movable head ,slidably mounted on the base plate arranged tohold the other piece of' film to be spliced, afilm holder pivotallymounted on said movable head, means in each head for positioning thefilm therein, stationary shear plates on the inner end of the stationaryand movable heads, a cutter frame pivotally mounted on the base plate,shear plates on the cutter frame arranged to vco-aet with the shearplates on the heads to cut the ends of the pieces of film, Ameans on thecutter frame for scraping the upper face of the end of the film heldinthe stationary head, and means for moving the film holder on said.movable head to bring the inner end of the film therein downwardly uponthe scrapedl portion of the film in the stationary head.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand at Los Angeles,California, this 241th day of March, 1920.

, JAMES SLIPPER.

